Reds Not Likely To Make A Move
According to Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said Saturday afternoon that his club plans to sit tight as the August 31 waiver trade deadline approaches.
"Nothing has changed," Jocketty told Groeschen via text message. This backs up a similar report that was published earlier in the week by the Enquirer's John Fay. Not a single team showed interest in closer Francisco Cordero and his monstrous contract, and it appears the Reds will hang onto trade candidate Jonny Gomes as well.
Joe Crede Considering Retirement?
According to Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, Twins third baseman Joe Crede might opt to retire after this season.
Crede has dealt with back issues for years and was placed on the disabled list Friday night after an epidural failed to relieve his ongoing lower back discomfort. At the young age of 31, it'd be a tragedy to see him go, but he's a free agent in the fall and obviously has the right to end his career on his own terms. Crede is a .254/.304/.444 career hitter. He won a Silver Slugger award in 2006 and was named an All-Star for the first time in 2008.
Brad Penny Rumors: Saturday
1:26pm: According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, the Yankees and Giants have also begun showing serious interest in Penny. Heyman opines, and many others agree, that an "NL team might be better for him."
9:19am: Jon Paul Morosi at FOX Sports says that the Marlins are "among the most serious suitors" for Brad Penny's services in the wake of Penny's release from the Red Sox this week. Penny is apparently set to clear release waivers sometime soon.
The Marlins' interest has been noted here, but it looks like a decision will come soon. Morosi believes that the finalization of the move will probably be predicated on how well the Fish play against the Padres this weekend, and says that winning this series could justify a Penny addition. Morosi also says that the Rockies, while still looking for starting pitching, aren't in the market for Penny.
When Penny departed the Marlins for the Dodgers in 2004 in a trade he was in top form, having put up a 3.15 ERA and 105/39 K/BB ratio in 131 innings that season. He's only matched that brilliance in one season since, but a move to the NL certainly can't hurt.
Twins Designate R.A. Dickey For Assignment
According LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins have designated right-hander R.A. Dickey for assignment in order to clear roster space for newly acquired reliever Ron Mahay.
Dickey, a knuckleballer who turns 35 in October, had a 4.62 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 42/30 K/BB ratio in 64 1/3 innings with the Twins this season. He has a 5.43 earned-run average in 442 2/3 career innings. With those numbers, there's a good chance he'll land back at the club's Triple-A Affiliate in Rochester, New York.
Odds & Ends: Twins, Astros, Magglio
Some links for the morning:
- Richard Justice at the Houston Chronicle has a laundry list of ways to make the Astros a more interesting team, including making Jeff Bagwell the manager for the rest of the season.
- Bob Dutton at the Kansas City Star says sources have confirmed discussions involving an extension for GM Dayton Moore, but they caution that nothing is imminent just yet.
- Kelly Thesier at MLB.com gets Twins anchor Joe Nathan's take on the team's recent flurry of moves.
- With the recent claims on Rich Harden and Aaron Heilman, Toni Ginnetti at the Chicago Sun-Times gives a rundown of the decisions ahead for Cubs GM Jim Hendry.
- The Tigers have a decision to make on the future of Magglio Ordonez, whose 2010 option vests with just around 50 more plate appearances this year. Tom Gage at the Detroit News says that it appears the team will let the $18MM option exercise itself, and discusses the ramifications and reasoning.
- George Steinbrenner is on the verge of being sued by one Bob Gutkowski, who claims he came up with the idea for the YES Network, reports Richard Sandomir at the New York Times.
Elias Rankings Update
At the end of each season, The Elias Sports Bureau ranks all MLB players numerically based on a bunch of stats. Every player is categorized in one of five position groups and by league. The rankings cover a two-year time period. They are used to determine whether free agents are Type A, Type B, or neither. If you'd like a reminder on how draft pick compensation works, read up here.
Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts reverse-engineered the Elias Rankings last year. Eddie's incredible work was made possible in large part due to information provided by ESPN's Keith Law. Eddie is now providing the rankings exclusively to MLB Trade Rumors. Today's snapshot covers the beginning of the 2008 season through August 28th, 2009. The rankings will change over the remainder of the season. Keep in mind that if players change leagues, they are ranked in their new league.
Click here to see the latest Elias Rankings.
McLane “Vows To Evaluate” Astros
In the aftermath of Roy Oswalt's critical comments on the play of his teammates, Astros owner Drayton McLane seemed to take issue with Oswalt's concerns as well as agree with them:
“We're going to review every part — from the players to the manager, to the farm system. We haven't picked out any one part of it. Roy had great frustration, and that's part of a champion. He wants to win as much as anybody else. These are problems you need to solve internally rather than through the media.”
McLane didn't give a hard answer on whether he believed manager Cecil Cooper would return for next season. McLane also seemed curious about whom Oswalt was referring to, as the righty didn't name names when he questioned the drive of some fellow teammates.
As much as McLane was disappointed in Oswalt, he seemed to place much value on Oswalt's criticisms and it doesn't appear he wants to punish the pitcher, who is under contract through at least 2011 with the Astros. We probably could have predicted it, but it looks like the Astros could be due for a major facelift come winter.
Reactions to Kazmir Deal
The Scott Kazmir trade caught a few of us by surprise. Let's check out what the wider world of sports has to say about the move:
- Rob Neyer at ESPN says the Rays' rotation shuffle from Kazmir to Wade Davis cuts their playoff chances from 10 percent to 8 percent and opines, "Giving up two percent in exchange for three talented young players … well, on paper that's a move you'd be thrilled to make, every day of the week."
- Torii Hunter is happy he doesn't have to face Kazmir anymore, and he and his teammates are excited about the addition, reports Rhett Bollinger at MLB.com.
- Bill Shaikin at the L.A. Times believes Kazmir is "just what the Angels needed" and that his joining probably spells the end of the John Lackey era.
- Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman says money was not the primary reason for the deal, and he and Rays manager Joe Maddon express faith that the current crop of talent still keeps the team in contention, reports Marc Topkin at the St. Petersburg Times.
Angels Acquire Scott Kazmir
9:31pm: The deal was as expected, according to Bill Shaikin of The LA Times. The Angels get Kazmir in exchange for minor leaguers Torres and Sweeney, plus a PTBNL. The 25-yr old Kazmir is under contract for two more seasons, plus a team option for 2012. With 144 career starts under his belt, the southpaw has put up an impressive 3.92 ERA and 9.8 K/9 while honing his craft in the AL East, and he even has World Series experience.
9:21pm: And we finally have confirmation: Topkin says the Rays have made the trade official.
6:17pm: Man on the scene Marc Topkin hears that the Rays may also receive a player to be named later in addition to Torres and Sweeney.
5:59pm: It's the deal that just won't be made official. Topkin says there won't be a trade announcement made until after tonight's Rays-Tigers game in Detroit. Naturally, the game is in a rain delay.
5:00pm: Topkins tweets that the deal should be finalized within an hour.
4:40pm: Sherman says that no money is changing hands in the deal, so the Angels are absorbing the over $20MM owed to Kazmir over the next two years.
4:33pm: Joel Sherman of The NY Post hears from a source that the deal is done, and Kazmir is "definitely going to the Angels."
4:23pm: The original report from MLB.com's Lyle Spencer has been changed, and now says that the proposed deal has fallen through.
4:17pm: Topkin tweets that there still has been no confirmation of the trade, and that Kazmir is just walking around the clubhouse talking on his phone. I suspect that's not out of the ordinary, though.
3:59pm: Topkin now reports that manager Joe Maddon's usual pre-grame media session has been pushed back.
3:43pm: Marc Topkin reports that Kazmir remains in the Rays clubhouse. He hasn't been told anything about a trade and actually thought the writers who asked him about one were kidding.
3:34pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com and ESPN.com's Buster Olney confirm that the Angels are close to acquiring Kazmir. There's at least $23.5MM remaining on Kazmir's deal and Heyman says the Rays want to spend that on other players. Kazmir receives $800k if he's traded.
2:58pm: The Angels are close to acquiring Scott Kazmir from the Rays, according to MLB.com's Lyle Spencer. Spencer reports that the Rays are "on the verge" of sending Kazmir west for a pair of prospects, Alexander Torres and Matthew Sweeney.
Discussion: John Lackey
While we're still awaiting official word, it appears that the Angels will add Scott Kazmir to their rotation at the cost of some prospects later tonight. The Halos will reportedly take on Kazmir's entire contract, which is upwards of $23MM if the club declines his 2012 option. The team also has a decision to make this coming offseason about incumbent ace John Lackey, who is set to become a free agent for the first time in his career.
So tonight's question is this: how will the Kazmir pickup affect the Angels pursuit of John Lackey, if at all? Does the club now have a little more leverage now, meaning they could hold the line in negotiations with Lackey a little harder than they would have since Kazmir represents a "replacement ace." Or does it not even matter?